The Lincoln Saltdogs kept up their winning ways against St. Paul on Saturday, knocking off the Saints 8-2 at Haymarket Park.  The win keeps Lincoln in first place in the American Association North.

Lincoln pitcher Vince Davis (4-2), making his first start of the season, pitched out of a major jam in the very first inning.  St. Paul used an infield hit, a bunt single and a walk to load the bases with nobody out.  Davis struck out Marcel Longmire for the first out, then induced Brent Krause to fly out to center.  Tony Mansolino tried to tag up and score from third, but Matt Maloney gunned him down at the plate, keeping the Saints off the scoreboard.

The Saltdogs wasted their own early-inning opportunity, leaving the bases loaded in the third inning, but they broke through in the fourth against Saints starter Josh Regits (1-1).  With the bases loaded and two out, Omar Bramasco drew an RBI walk to plate the first run of the game.  Skip Adams followed with a two-run double down the left-field line, giving Lincoln a 3-0 lead.

St. Paul plated a run in the fourth to cut the lead to two, but Lincoln broke the game open in the sixth.  Maloney cracked a two-run home run, his second in as many nights and fourth on the season, increasing the lead to 5-1.  Jonny Kaplan followed with a single and a stolen base, and Dustin Yount scored him with a double to left that hit high off the left-field wall, missing a home run by two feet.

Davis departed after pitching 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, including the Saints’ final run in the seventh inning.  Alvaro Orozco and Dusty Bergman combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to finish the contest.  Offensively, Lincoln tacked on insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.  Mario Delgado hit his 11th homer of the season in the seventh, and Shawn McGill had an RBI single in the eighth.

McGill finished the night 4-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.  Yount ended up 3-for-5 with his team-leading 49th RBI, while Adams, Kaplan and Shea McFeely all had two hits apiece for Lincoln.  Every member of the Saltdogs lineup had either a hit, an RBI or both on the night, as Lincoln finished with 16 hits.

The Saltdogs and Saints play the finale of their three-game series Sunday afternoon at 2:05.  Jason Jarvis is scheduled to make the start for Lincoln.

The Saltdogs’ current homestand runs through July 20.  For team and ticket information, go to www.saltdogs.com.